Breathless
by Not Just a Nerd
Summary: But when his breath caught in his chest and he gasped for air, she would see the pain in his eyes and feel terrified. What if he stopped breathing at that very moment? *JALEX*. My longest One-shot.


(A/N: Yupe, my results are out (and good) and I'm _finally_ relaxed, so here is the longest one-shot I have ever written. I have _no idea_ where I got this idea/plot, what made me write _this_, but since I wrote it, please read?)

_**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own WOWP or the songs that I have used. The songs are: Breathless by Shayne Ward, Breathless by The Corrs

…

**{"The daylight's fading slowly **

**But time with you is standing still…**

**I'm waiting for you only**

**The slightest touch and I feel weak.}**

…

The street was empty, with only a few houses here and there, and no person in view, the darkness of the night making it appear even scarier. She inserted the key in the key-hole of the door and turned the key, trying to get the door unlocked. She tried to turn the doorknob, but it refused to move. She pushed the door with all her might, slamming her weight against it in her frantic attempt to get it open, but failed.

"Come on Alex, we are getting late." He said in an irritated tone, motioning at his wrist watch- _a new one; he had got that as a birthday present from his mother_- and tapping his feet on the floor, glancing around occasionally to see if anyone was watching them.

"Why don't you help me instead of standing there looking all scared like a little girl?" She teased, as she slammed into the door once again.

"Alex", he sighed, and walked up to her, until he was standing right behind her, watching her pounding against the door. "You've been trying for three hours."

"Justin!" she yelled, as she fumbled with the doorknob again. "Just go away if you don't want to stick around! I can manage on my own!"

Every thing was silent for a moment, and she was almost sure that he had left- _not that she cared, not that she was hoping he would stay_. She groaned in frustration and bounced at the door with such a force that it made her stumble backward.

Two strong arms caught her before she hit the ground, and just when she was about to think of thanking him, he spoke, in his smug-and-teasing tone. "What were you saying?"

She shoved him with her elbow and freed herself from his grasp, walking away from him angrily, and sitting on an abandoned and almost broken bench five feet away.

"Alex…" he sighed, walking up to her, and tried reasoning again. "We need to get home. Mom and dad will be worried."

"But Justin-"

He raised his index finger as a warning and cut off her protest. "We are going home now."

She tried pouting, and it didn't work. She tried stomping her feet, and that didn't work either. In that case, there was just one thing left to do. She was hoping she wouldn't have to go that far, but hey, he asked for it. "I have that 'Why cowboys are stuck up' article you wrote; and I was picturing what Mr. Laritate would do if he read it…"

There was no warning, no yelping, no shouting like a little girl, no pleading, no "Alex!" So she looked up and saw him standing in front of her, his hands tucked in the front pockets of his pants- _he really needs to buy something more fashionable and less dorky_- his eyebrows raised in amusement, and his lips curved upwards in a taunting grin.

"What?" she demanded, because the last thing she needed was him standing there and staring at her like that.

He shook his head and his grin grew wider- _this just keeps getting worse, doesn't it? -_ as he walked up and sat down beside her. "You actually _read_ something?"

She definitely wasn't expecting that question. How could Justin think she'd bow so low, how could he even imagine that? "I just read the title", she said in an annoyed tone, as she shifted to her right to get away from him- _her dork of a brother_- and would have ended up falling down, if his hands didn't take hold of her wrists and grab her back up.

"These things need to be longer." She mumbled, glaring at the narrow bench, and got up. "Fine, let's go home." She sighed, finally feeling exhausted- _and this was the perfect time to try that new energizing spell she had learnt, actually, Justin had forced her to learn_- and motioned at her brother to get up. "But we will come back tomorrow." She added, pouring water on all his hopes.

"I don't understand why you're so desperate", he asked, getting up and walking with her towards the crowded part of the city- _and they would still be late, it'd still take an hour to reach the main city_- "It's just a bracelet, Alex."

"It's not _just_ a bracelet", she snapped, and then quickly recollected herself. She looked at the key in her hand and tossed in towards him, making him jump up in surprise, drop the key to the ground, and later pick it up- _he doesn't have a single athletic bone in his body_- and she had to bite back the urge to tease him about this. "Keep the key with you. Harper will be so mad if I lose it... I shouldn't have made that stupid bet with Gigi to see who can stay longer in this scary house. If I didn't, then I wouldn't have lost it."

"Alex", he said, and for once his voice was soft and comforting. "I'll buy you another one..."

"No" she shook her head- _and now that she thinks about it, when was it that she gave in to his ideas so easily?_- "It's special Justin. It's a memory… your memory."

He sighed and took in a deep breath. And another. And another.

And finally she noticed that he was breathless again, his mouth wide open in his frantic attempt to draw in some air.

"Justin?" she whispered, frightened out of her mind, as she stepped closer to him, "Are you… are you okay?"

He simply nodded as he gasped for breath, and she was sure he was having breathing trouble again. "Come on, sit down." She said, as she looked around them to see if there was any chair or bench, and found none- _when can you ever find anything you really need?_ "Ugh" she groaned as she got on her tiptoes to look further ahead.

Suddenly, he reached out and grabbed her hands forcefully, making her stumble backwards in shock for a moment. She looked up at his face, and noticed his eyes were different. His eyes were dark, wide, pained because of the shortness of breath, but there was something else. The way he was looking at her was so different, so intense, that she could feel his gaze burn her, bringing tears to her eyes. 

"Justin?" she whispered again, as tears started falling down her cheeks. "No… Justin… please."

He squeezed her hands tighter in assurance and took a deeper breath.

**{"And if there's no tomorrow,**

**And all we have is here and now.**

**I'm happy just to have you**

**You're all the love I need somehow"}**

She watched him for a moment, as his chest heaved up and down, up and down, in an irregular and fast rhythm, and he took in short, quick and deep breaths.

"We need to go home now." She said, immediately grabbing her wand from her boot and attempting to mutter the teleport spell.

"I'm all right" he breathed out, stopping her before she muttered the incorrect spell.

She froze where she was standing, unsure about what to do. And then, after a few minutes, his breathing became even again. She sighed in relief and resisted her urge to go up and hug him- it could just make things worse for him.

"I told you, you shouldn't come. You are not supposed to walk so much…" she sobbed, wiping her tears away.

He only smiled apologetically. "I couldn't let you go on your own… there hasn't been a day when you went out alone and didn't get into trouble."

He was talking normally again, mocking her, his heart beat rate almost normal, she could tell. She would have wanted to hit him on his shoulder, or turn him into a tiny action figure, but he was standing in front of her, still breathing, still alive, and she had never left more relieved in her life.

"You love scaring me like this don't you?" she complained through her tears, even though she knew it was just the disease. "I swear Justin; you'll give me a heart attack someday-"

"Shhh…" he warned, cutting off her ranting. "Don't even talk about dying, Alex. Life is precious, _trust me_."

There was that pain, that helplessness in his voice, and her heart shattered again. 

"Asthma is not fatal, Justin." She said in a resolute voice, even as her own body trembled in fear. She couldn't imagine a second without him.

He smiled and shook his head sadly at the same time. "People are dying from it every day, Alex."

"You won't!" she snapped, and before he could say anything further, she was walking again.

He smiled to himself as he started walking too, taking slow, steady and careful steps, making sure he was breathing properly. There was this thing about Alex- stubbornness. Whenever they were discussing about his disease, she would yell at everyone that he would not die, and then run away to her room, refusing to hear anything further.

He believed her, and he believed science. He knew it wasn't fatal, he knew diagnosis was possible, and he knew he wouldn't die, but every time his breath caught in his chest, every time he would gasp for air, he would look at her alarmed eyes and feel terrified- what would happen to her if he died at that moment? 

"Justin?" she asked, startled to see he had stopped in his tracks.

He smiled at her and shook his head, taking her hands in his. "I'm okay, Alex." He whispered, giving her hands a reassuring squeeze.

…..

**{"If our love was a fairytale,**

**I would charge in and rescue you…**

**On a yacht, baby, we would sail**

**To an island where we'd say I do."}**

….

When they reached home, he turned the doorknob and opened the door slowly, making sure it made no noise. The living room was pitch dark- _which was unusual at that hour_- and no one was in view, so they slowly crept in.

The light was flicked on at once, and they froze in their tracks as they saw their parents, standing in front of them, arms crossed in an angry gesture. _Trouble_….

"Where have you two been?" their mother demanded, in such a calm and stern tone that it took all his self-control to keep himself from shuddering.

"I… we… we went for a walk." He said, and Alex titled her head to look at him. _Really? __That__ was the best lie he could come up with? _

"Oh, really?" Their mother asked, _and okay, so her voice was definitely rising_. "You went on a stroll with your sister in the evening, for no reason at all! And you forgot to take your inhaler with you! How could you be so irresponsible, Justin?" she yelled.

His head hung low, and he felt ashamed- he should have taken the inhaler; he needed it when he was breathless; he was quite lucky that he survived without much damage. He was ready to apologize when-

"It's my fault mom." She confessed. "Justin was helping me find the bracelet that I lost in Harper's old house."

"WHAT!" their mother yelled again, and okay, so the neighbors were probably listening by that moment. "You know he is not supposed to go so far away! How could you risk your brother's life for a stupid bracelet!"

"It's not stupid!" Alex yelled back, and then took in deep breaths, trying to recollect herself. "I know I shouldn't have taken him with me. And he's really important to me, you know that… but…I… that bracelet is special to me. It has a lot of memories…."

…

_Justin stood in front of Alex's locker, looking at the crowded hallway, and fidgeted with his fingers, clearly uncomfortable. _

"_Stop blocking my locker, dork; get out of the way!" she snapped, shoving him away from her locker._

"_Hey", he greeted, smiling nervously, and ignored her insult. "So… how was class?" he asked, trying to make small talk._

_She snorted, as she opened her locker door and threw her whatever book inside. "What do you think?"_

_He smiled slightly and shook his head. "I'm sorry about whatever may have happened."_

_She whined and mockingly banged her head on the locker. "No, Justin, please, no, not the 'sweet-guy' mode again, please. I just had a history class with Mr. Laritate talking in all sorts of cowboy lingo. I don't think I can take in any more weirdness…"_

_He chuckled slightly and reached into his pocket. "Well, then, how about a present?"_

_She instantly looked at him, eyes twinkling with curiosity and excitement, and saw him holding up a silver bracelet in her direction. It was nice, pretty, shiny, and she definitely liked it. "What's this for?" she asked, taking the bracelet in her hand and examining it more carefully. _

"_Today's 14__th__ May." He replied, looking at the ground and blushing like a school girl._

_She just stared at him blankly. Like, he actually expected her to remember whatever happened on May 14__th__? She was ready to take bets that this was the date when world war 5 started… wait a minute, was there a world war 5? _

_Looking up at her and seeing her blank expression, he sighed and shook his head in mock disappointment. "It's been a week now…"_

_Oh. That. Okay. A smile slowly formed on her lips, as she handed the bracelet to him, motioning him to put it on her wrist. "Who would have thought we'd last a week?" she chuckled, as he decked her wrist with the silver bracelet. "Good thing you chose something in silver, now I can wear it all the time."  
_

_His smile grew wider, and __his eyes glittered with happiness and love and gratefulness for how perfect their life was at that moment- nothing could destroy them__. "Happy one week anniversary" he whispered in her ear, before walking away to his class. _

_And __her knees grew weak as she realized that when he said he'd celebrate every single moment with her- he actually meant it. _

…

"Are you feeling better, son?" their father asked him, as he took in deep breaths from the inhaler.

"Yeah dad, I'm fine." He assured, patting his father's shoulder as he handed the inhaler back to him. "I think I should go and get some rest now… we have school tomorrow."

"Okay", their mother nodded. "I'll just send your dinner to your room then."

"Umm, actually, mom, send it to Alex's room." He suggested. "I need to give her something."

"O-kay." Their mother nodded hesitantly, as he started climbing up the stairs.

She instantly ran up to him, and took his hand in hers. He looked down at their intertwined fingers and joined hands, and smiled.

His smile soon turned into a frown when he noticed how empty her wrist looked without the bracelet.

"Sorry I got you into trouble." She mumbled, as she led him up the stairs.

"I'm okay, Alex." He whispered, giving her hands a reassuring squeeze.

…

**{"And if our love was a story book**

**We would meet on the very first page**

**The last chapter would be about**

**How I'm thankful for the life we've made"}**

…

He knocked at her door and walked in, finding her sitting in her bed, with their food in the table in front of her.

"I got you something." He said, smiling, as he sat down beside her.

"Yeah?" she asked, raising an eyebrow impatiently. _How could he torture her and delay her from eating that delicious food? _

He held his hands up and revealed another silver bracelet. "I bought this one from the mall that day… thought I'd give it to you on some occasion.. But… well, here you go… come on…" he took her wrist in his hand and put the bracelet around it- sealing it more tightly . "This time, be a bit more careful, Princess Careless." He added, in his smug-and-teasing voice.

She looked at the new bracelet at her wrists and blinked. It wasn't as beautiful as the original one, the stones a lighter shade of pink and lacking bright luster- but it was his love and his affection that was making it appear like the most gorgeous thing in the world. 

"Justin…" she whispered as tears fell from her eyes again, and _gosh, he could turn her into such a sentimental freak!_

"Shhh…" he whispered back as he wiped her tears. "Come on, the food's getting cold!"

And suddenly, she threw her arms around his shoulders, hugging him tightly for two seconds, before pulling back quickly and looking at him in panic to see if she accidentally made him breathless again.

He smiled as he tucked her locks behind her ears. "I'm okay, Alex." He whispered, giving her hands a reassuring squeeze.

…

"_So, where are we going again?" she asked, looking around the unfamiliar wizard city that she had no business being on, if it wasn't for him and his 'insatiable appetite for knowledge'. _

"_We are going to the Library of THE City of Wizledge." He repeated for the 8__th__ time as he checked his map again. _

_She snorted, and looked at a cute guy standing in front of some shop and staring at her. She instantly reached for his hands and intertwined their fingers._

"_Alex, we are not on a date." He protested immediately. "We are here to-"_

"_Shhh!" she hissed, glaring at him. "Just play along if you don't want rotten eggs for your breakfast for the next 15 days."  
_

_He sighed dramatically and looked at the sky. "Why?" He groaned, showing mock regret for starting this relationship._

_She swore that sometimes he tried to act like a cliché hero from a cliché movie. Her eyes narrowed threateningly, and she gave his hands a tight squeeze as a silent threat. He yelped out in mock pain and yanked his hand away, as he put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. "Come on Alex; I really need that Wiztonary." _

_She snorted again, but relaxed, resting her head on his shoulder, as they walked together- their footsteps never matching rhythms. __They never were the perfectly synchronized couple- those things only happened in stories and movies__. _

_She looked around at all the shops. Gosh, who knew there were so many magical stores in this city? Hey, maybe she could buy something once Justin's nerd work was over?_

"_Alex, we are not shopping." He announced sternly._

_And if he hadn't grown up knowing her too well, she would have been sure that he was using a mind- reading spell. She didn't reply- what's the point of arguing when she knew that he would finally give in? She just looked around the stores and noticed how magical they looked. There were shops selling broomsticks,- and why do people fly in broomsticks when they have a magic carpet? - wands, oracles, genies, and all sorts of potions. There was a shop where potions were being brewed and smoke was coming out at a rapid speed. _

_Suddenly, he froze in his tracks. _

_She snorted, titling her head and looking at his face. "What? This was urgent, like, some ten minutes ago."_

_He didn't reply- he just took in deeper breaths._

"_Justin?" she asked skeptically, stepping away from him and watching him… breathless?_

_His shortness of breath was finally starting to scare her. "Justin, you're freaking me out." She whispered, her heart beating at an increased rate. "Stop it, it's not funny!" she half whined, half pleaded._

_His breathlessness continued for a few more minutes, and he finally relaxed. _

"_I'm all right." He said, as his breathing returned to the normal rate._

"_What happened?" she asked, stepping in closer to him._

_He just shrugged and smiled, taking her hands in his. _

"_That was weird." She mumbled, still trying to calm herself. "This has never happened to you before." _

_He nodded in acknowledgement- that was the first time he was breathless. "I'm okay, Alex." He whispered, giving her hands a reassuring squeeze. _

…

"So, you are not going with me to Harper's house tomorrow, right?" she asked, as she pulled her comforter up to her waistline.

He had reached the door frame by that time, but he stopped in his tracks, turned around and slowly walked towards her- _he really needs to stop watching those slow-motion drama flicks- _sitting down at the edge of her bed.

"Alex", he began, and _why did he always have to sound like he was talking to a child_? "I just gave you another one…"

"But that has memories, Justin!" she protested, turning on her bedside light and sitting up.

"Memories can be created." He chimed softly, "We'll create new memories with new things… let the old memories stay in our hearts."

She nodded silently, sparing him the teasing for once, and smiled brightly at him. "You know, guys are usually bad at emotional stuff… but you are really good, Justin. I think that can work."

He smiled back at her and nodded. "Good night Alex."

"Good night", she mumbled as she slumped into her bed again.

He pulled the covers up to her waist, turned off the light, and gave a quick kiss on her forehead- his lips soft, comforting and reassuring- before he left the room, closing the door softly behind him.

Soft- that was the word that described him best. Everything he did was so soft, so gentle and so sweet- it always made her knees grow weak. She closed her eyes tightly and clutched her pillow to her chest. Sometimes she regretted not having a teddy bear- an actual one, one that she could hug tightly when she was feeling scared or alone and cry herself to sleep. Tears started rolling down her cheeks. She had been crying a lot lately- finding out about Justin's disease had shaken her to the core, and she still couldn't understand how it remained undetected for so long. Perhaps it was because of the magic flowing through his blood? Perhaps magic had cured his disease for so long?

She had heard that magic can cure diseases, and she had snorted and made fun of it. But at that moment, she didn't have enough words to express how grateful she was towards magic. Maybe it was the magic in his blood that was keeping him alive…

"Go to sleep Alex"- came his whispering voice. She opened her eyes to see him standing in front of her bed, his dark figure appearing ghastly in the darkness of the room, and if it wasn't Justin and she hadn't known him for her entire life, she would have felt scared. She didn't even notice when he had re-entered her room, she had been so absorbed in her thoughts.

He walked up to her bed again and sat down on the edge. "I know the going is tough now." He whispered, gently stroking her hair with his soft fingers. "But we'll make it through it, trust me."

There was this thing about Justin- the certainty in his words. Whenever she was worried about him, he would tell her that he was all right, and he would be all right, and that was somehow comforting. She knew his disease wasn't fatal, she knew he wouldn't die, but when his breath caught in his chest and he gasped for air, she would see the pain in his eyes and feel terrified. What if he stopped breathing at that very moment- how would she live without him?

"Alex", he whispered, cutting off her trail of thoughts. "I'm right here."

She nodded, as she put her hand over his hand that rested on her head. "I'm sorry."

He gasped in fake surprise. "Alex Russo is apologizing?"

She glared at him. He had this tendency of slipping from boyfriend-mode to brother-mode and vice versa, she was used to it, but at that moment, she didn't wish to spoil their heart-to-heart conversation. "I should have been more careful with that bracelet", she mumbled.

"It's not your fault", he assured quickly. "These things happen."

"I know." She nodded. "But you know I didn't mean to lose it, right? You know I love you…"

His smile grew into a grin- a teasing grin. "Wow. You just used the L word. On second thoughts, today is amazing."

She rolled her eyes and smacked him playfully on his shoulder. "I still cant believe I fell for you.." she muttered.

"Neither can I", he chuckled.

….

"_Justin!" Alex yelled, running up behind him as he sped up the road. "Justin, stop!" _

_He didn't stop, even though he heard her- he just kept running away._

"_Oh, would it hurt you to at least slow down a bit?" she roared. _

_He chuckled to himself. Wow, Alex admitted that she was having trouble catching up to his speed! He could totally use that as teasing stuff- if only it wasn't for the present circumstances._

"_Justin!" she yelled again, stopping in her tracks and stomping her feet, finally ready to give up. _

_His mission was accomplished, he was safe. But for some reason, he dared to turn around and look her in the eye._

_She was heaving and panting, trying to catch her breath._

"_Looks like someone had a little trouble running." He had the guts to tease, as he walked back to her._

_She glared at him- glaring at him was her favorite job. __"If only you knew what it feels like to be breathless."_

_He pouted sadly at her. "Too bad I don't." _

"_Ugh!" she groaned in frustration, turning around and ready to leave. _

"_No wait, Alex." He stopped her, grabbing her by her arm. "You are right", he acknowledged, running his hands through his hair nervously. "We do need to talk about this."_

"_Okay", she gulped, because she so did not expect him to give up at that moment! "You go first."_

"_What!" he shrieked. "Why should I go first? It was your idea!"_

"_But you are the older brother!" she yelled back. "You were born first, you should go first."  
_

_He titled his head and stared at her. From where did she get such logic and reasoning?_

"_Justin!" she whined, growing impatient. _

"_Fine", he sighed, looking away. "Look, I know we both know by now how we feel about each other, but one of us needs to come clean about it, so I'm saying it. I think I'm in love with you Alex."_

_She snorted. "Cheesy Justin, cheesy. I don't like that L-word."_

_He titled his head and stared at her again._

_She crossed her arms to her chest in a defensive gesture. "I'm not saying it." She said with finality before walking away._

"_Alex!" he yelled, running behind her. "That's not fair! You said I should go first. That meant you would go after me!"_

"_I did not say I'd go after you!" she yelled back._

"_But what you said meant you'd go next!"_

"_No it didn't!"_

"_Yes, it did!"_

"_Justin, I'm not saying it!"_

"_Yes you are!"_

"_No .not!"_

"_Ugh- ALEX!" _

_And this was definitely not at all romantic. This was not how it happened for all the other couples- but they weren't like the other couples anyway, so this was only fair. _

_For starters, they were a brother and a sister in love, and they were ignoring the fact (For the time being) and behaving like a normal couple. _

...

They both smiled at the memory of that day- life had been so _perfect_ back then. Life had been so perfect even after that- two years had passed so smoothly, without any problems. _Well, besides the guilt and risks of a forbidden relation, but who's counting that?_

"Alex"... he whispered.

"Hmmm?"

"You need to fall asleep soon. We have school tomorrow. And I don't want to fall asleep in my calculus classes. Oh, I heard that they are going to teach this awesome new-"

"Justin!" she cut him off. "Please, don't, just don't, you are ruining our moment here."

"Sorry", he mumbled, scratching the back of his head. "But you really do need to fall asleep now."

"I can't!" she sighed. "I'll have those nightmares again, Justin…"

He sighed too. He knew what she meant. She had been having nightmares about his disease every day, and he had a feeling that she even saw his death in her dreams- that must have been the reason why she was so scared about his disease.

"Please Justin." She pleaded.

He nodded softly. "Move… and I'm turning the night light on."

She scooted to the other side quickly, and put the extra pillow between them- _he wouldn't get anywhere near her if it wasn't for the pillow dividing them, he said when he was sleeping he didn't know what he was doing; she was still mad about it though._

He turned on the night light and pulled the comforter up to his waist.

She still sat on her side, staring at him in utter disbelief.

"What?" he scoffed.

"I thought we made a deal. I'll let you place the stupid pillow if you turn off that stupid light. Looks like you're breaking your promise, Justin."

He looked up at the ceiling and sighed dramatically. "Why?"

She glared at him- _if he doesn't stop his over-acting he's so going to pay for it… wait a minute. _Alex smiled mischievously as she suddenly got an idea.

As soon as Justin turned off his light- _his because he was the one who had fixed a light in her bedroom, she would NEVER even let it in!- _she threw the pillow aside and snuggled up to him.

"Alex!" he muttered through clenched teeth.

"Hey, you're not the only one who gets to break the deal!" she protested.

"Alex", he yawned- _what a great_ _way to ruin a perfectly romantic moment_, "please, we've been through this before."

She looked up at him and pouted. "But I feel alone, I feel scared."

He smiled sadly and shook his head. "No Alex… we already talked about this."

…

**{"And if we had babies they would have your eyes**

**I would fall deeper watching you give life**

**You don't even know how special you are"}**

…

"_Alex, wait!" Justin yelled, walking behind her, trying to catch up with her. "Alex!"_

_She stopped in her tracks, whined and then turned around. "No, Justin, please, no. you just made me say the L-word. Please. I don't want to talk about anything else now."_

_He sighed and looked at the ground, tucking his hands in his front pocket and kicking the small pebbles lying in the pathway. "Alex, we need to talk about the future."_

"_Oh, you mean like 5 minutes from now, when you'll be talking to yourself and I'll be walking away?"_

"_No." He scolded. "I am talking about __our__ future." _

"_Oh, look at that, happening four minutes earlier!"_

"_Alex!"_

_She whined again and sat down on a bench in the park, motioning for him to sit down beside her. "It's been just one month Justin, there's plenty of time to talk about this…"_

_He shook his head firmly. "We have been ignoring the seriousness of this situation for way too long Alex."  
_

"_Here comes the moral, legal and scientific lecture." She mumbled to herself, while looking away._

"_Alex", he sighed. "You are my sister."_

"_I know, duh?"_

"_Alex." He warned. _

"_Justin?" she mimicked, batting her eyelashes. _

_He groaned in frustration. "What we are doing is wrong."_

"_I know."_

"_It's a sin."_

"_I know."_

"_It's a crime."_

"_I know."_

"_We are cheating our family and our friends." _

"_I know."_

"_Alex!"_

"_Anything else? No. Okay bye, see you at home!"_

"_Alex!" he growled, grabbing her arm and forcing her to sit down on the bench again. "Do you understand the biological aspect of it?" he asked, letting go of her arm and looking down at the ground in guilt and shame._

"_I'm 16." She said, because that was self-explanatory._

_He chuckled lightly. "You act like a 6 year old."_

_And again, he was slipping from boyfriend-mode to big brother-mode. She held up her arms in the air to let him get her point._

"_Fine!" he yelled, squirming in his seat as he blurted out his next words. "We-can't-make-love-i-cant-take-the-risk."_

_She looked up at him with wide eyes, and he was sure that she would protest, when she suddenly burst into laughter._

_He frowned. "What's so funny about this Alex?" _

"_Make love?" she said, still laughing. "Really Justin? Only you would say something that lame."_

_He glared at her. "This is serious, Alex. You need to understand that-"_

_He was cut off when he was suddenly hit by a round of cough. Her eyes grew wide in alarm, as she watched him bring his fist near his mouth and cough his lungs out. She gently trailed her hands down her back, trying to comfort him, and offered him his bottled water- she had to admit keeping it was a wise decision; it did come handy. He_ _chugged down some water, and then started coughing again. She waited patiently, till his coughs subsided a few minutes later._

"_Are you all right?" she asked softly, still giving him time to catch his breath._

_He nodded weakly, as he took another sip from the bottle._

"_You must be sick. I think you need to see the doctor." She suggested._

_He shook his head. _

"_Justin! What the heck! Whenever anyone at home falls sick, you're the one who pushes them to the hospital, you're supposed to be the scientific one. How can you neglect your own illness? How can you be-"_

_He cut off her ranting by taking her hands in his. "I'm okay, Alex." He whispered, giving her hands a reassuring squeeze. _

….

Now that she thought about it, why couldn't she force him to the doctor? Maybe his disease would have been detected earlier; maybe he wouldn't be suffering so much.

He took her silence as a yes, and tried to place the pillow between them again. She snatched it from his hand and threw it on the floor.

"What the hell Alex!" he hissed.

"I just want to sleep in your arms! Is that so bad?" she snarled back.

"Alex you know we can't-"

"-I'm not asking you to, Justin!" she snarked, burying her face in her hands in frustration. "I just need to hear your heart beat, to feel you breathe, that makes me feel safe." She mumbled, her voice hushed.

Without waiting for his response, she turned around and scooted over to the other side of her bed, clutching her arms near her chest and wiping her tears.

His arm wrapped itself around her waist within a few seconds, as his head rested in the crook of her neck. "I'm sorry Alex", he mumbled, his breath tickling her ears, letting her know he was alive, and breathing, and right near her.

She nodded, turning around and facing him, wrapping her arms around him.

"And it took me one full hour to get you to sleep." He mumbled.

His teasing earned a glare _and_ a smile from her, as they both closed their eyes and fell asleep slowly.

…

"Come on kids, wake up!" Theresa growled, trying to wake up her eldest two. "Justin, you don't want to be late for school, do you?"

"Hmmm…" he groaned, burying his face even more deeply into the pillow.

"Alex, do you want me to bring the water bucket?" Theresa threatened, placing her hands on her hips.

"Uggh!" Alex groaned, burying her face deeper into Justin's chest to shut out the light and her mother's voice.

"How many times do I need to tell you that you _cannot _stay up and chat all night? Now see- you two can't even get up and go to school!" Theresa fumed.

"Hmmm…" Justin groaned again, rubbing his eyes with his hands. "Mom please, we are tired." He mumbled.

"Fine then, why don't you two just stay here in bed and sleep all day!" Theresa yelled, storming out of the room and slamming the door shut with a loud thud.

Alex chuckled slightly, the vibrations against his chest tickling him. "That was easy", she muttered in a sleepy voice. "Now you can stay here with me instead of going to school and doing some stupid calculus sums."

His eyes grew wide and he jumped up at once. "Oh my goodness! Calculus!" he panicked, glancing at the clock in alarm. "Alex! Come on, we need to get to school!"

"You go to school! You're the dorky one." She said, yawning, as she snatched the pillow from his hands and buried her face in it.

"Alex!" he warned, putting the pillow aside. "Come on, we are getting late!" he pleaded desperately, growing impatient by every passing second.

"Ughh!" she groaned again. "You are getting late. I usually get up at this time."

"Alex."

"Please, no."

He sighed, shaking his head in defeat and walking away.

She grabbed his arm and pulled him into her again.

"Alex!" he hissed. "Someone can walk in!"

"So what?" she challenged. "Mom knows you're sleeping here."

"But she wouldn't be happy to see me like this, would she?" he reasoned. "Alex, you don't understand. You are just-"

She groaned in annoyance and cut him off with a quick, gentle kiss. That caught him by surprise, and he stopped ranting.

"Alex!" he hissed again, before getting up and walking out of the room. She smiled to herself, mission accomplished, as she returned to sleep.

…

_Justin pulled back slightly, gazing deeply into Alex's eyes, and grinning triumphantly. _

_She would so wipe that smug look off his face, but right now, with her back against the wall and his hands around her waist, her knees growing weak and lips swollen, she couldn't help but groan in desperation. "Justin, no, please, don't stop!"_

_He chuckled to himself, mentally raising his collar for such a glorious victory over Alex Russo, as he leant in for yet another breathtaking kiss._

_Her mind went blank at that moment, the sensations drowning her, and only when he pulled back about 2 minutes later, both of them panting, she could think clearly again. And to think that this was the same guy who needed 17 odd attempts to get his first kiss right!_

"_Wow", she whispered, trailing her fingers over her quivering lips, still unable to say anything else._

_He didn't say anything though. _

"_Justin?" she whispered again, growing impatient with waiting for the next kiss._

_He still didn't speak- or lean it._

_Finally, she studied him more carefully. _

_He was breathing quickly and deeply, his mouth open slightly._

_She grinned. "Wow… I didn't know I could make you that breathless." _

_He still didn't speak. And his breathlessness slowly kept increasing. _

"_Justin?" she whispered again, suddenly feeling scared. _

_He nodded his head in acknowledgement, still trying to catch his breath. She watched his chest heave up and down, up and down- in an irregular rhythm. After a few breathless minutes, he was breathing normally again. _

"_Must have been the kiss." He whispered, shrugging._

_She ran into his arms and wrapped her arms around him._

"_I'm okay Alex", he whispered, giving her a reassuring squeeze._

….

**{"So go on, go on**

**Come on and leave me breathless.**

**Tempt me, tease me**

**Until I can't deny this loving feeling**

**Make me long for your kiss."}**

….

Till this day, whenever she thinks about their kisses, that memory haunts her. His breathlessness was slowly increasing, and they kept neglecting it, making his disease worse. Now she understands why people say that one should **never** neglect their disease. 

This began happening almost every day, and he still didn't take this seriously- _and that was so unlike him! What was he thinking?_

She sighed and sat up in the bed, because it was impossible to sleep with these thoughts running in her minds. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was eight already, and she was running late for school, _of course_. Groaning in annoyance, she got up from the bed, deciding to just go to school and sleep in the classes, instead of staying at home and listening to her mother rant about their father's increasing weight.

She headed for the bathroom; only to see Justin coming out of it, already dressed, _wow_, _he's fast, _still wiping his wet hair dry with a towel.

"Alex! Hurry up!" he yelled as he ran past her, without pausing.

She frowned in annoyance and entered the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Taking off her clothes, and turning on the shower, she let the cold water stimulate her body and her still sleepy mind, as she remembered yet another horrifying moment.

….

"_Don't stand so close to me!" Justin hissed over his shoulder as he browsed through the pages of a book- if you can call a 10000 pages fat thing covered in 10000 year old dust that- in the lair._

"_Why not?" Alex asked non-chalantly, poking him with her wand. _

"_Maybe because someone may walk in?" _

_She just rolled her eyes and peeked over his shoulder, trying to see what he was doing. "Why do you need that stupid spell?" _

_He shrugged. "Just curious I guess?"_

_She gasped. "You are going through that many pages for __nothing__?"_

_He shrugged again. "It may be nothing to you Alex, but reading means a lot to me."_

_She rolled her eyes again, and then a mischievous smile lit up her face. "Hey, while you are there, how about you find a nice spell for me. You know, something that I can actually __use__?"_

_He snorted. "You mean __misuse__." _

_She shrugged and sat down on the couch, placing her legs on the coffee table, earning a silent glare from him, but no protests. _

_It was silent for a few minutes, as Alex read her texts from Harper and replied to them, occasionally glancing at Justin and frowning; and Justin kept searching for the spell, eyebrows creased together and lips pursed into a thin line in concentration. _

_About ten minutes later, she got up and silently walked up to him. And that's when she noticed __a weird wheezing sound__. _

"_Justin?" she asked skeptically. "Is that…?" _

"_Yeah." He replied, sighing. "I think I should see the doctor."_

"_Finally." She muttered under her breath, as he left the lair._

_She stood there though, her legs frozen for some reason, many fearful thoughts appearing in her mind. __Why do we get so worried when someone we care about gets even a bit sick? _

…

"Alex, come on, we are getting late!" Max said impatiently, banging on the bathroom door.

"Oh I'm coming!" Alex yelled back, turning off the shower and getting ready.

When she arrived at the breakfast table, she earned glares from everyone. "What a warm welcome!" she said sarcastically.

"You remember you are grounded, right?" Theresa asked, handing her the lunch box.

"What? Why? I would like to take credit for Justin's weird hairstyle today, but really, I didn't do anything!"

"You are grounded for what you did last evening." Theresa stated more clearly. "And you too, Justin."

Justin frowned. "Thanks a lot Alex." He snarled.

"Oh, you are welcome." She replied, giving him a dry smile.

Max shook his head. _How were these two dating?_

"And Max is grounded too." Alex said evilly.

"What! Why? What did I do?" Max protested instantly.

"Maxie, why will you do alone without us? Don't you want to stay at home and hang out with us?" Alex said in her 'I-am-trying-to-manipulate-you' tone.

"Um, no?" Max asked weakly, and then turned to Justin. "Justin, should I listen to Alex and stay home with you guys?"

"Listen to Alex, no." Justin replied, smiling mockingly at Alex and then gave Max a genuine smile. "Staying at home with us? Yes."

Max nodded. "Okay Alex, I am not listening to you…. And I'm staying at home with you guys. Mom, I'm grounded too."

Alex shook her head and smiled. Who would explain Max that staying at home _was_ listening to her?

"All right then." Theresa said, as her kids finished breakfast. "Have fun at school. Don't get into trouble Alex, and don't try to get out of class. And Justin, please take care of your sister."

Justin nodded. "I would take _good care of her_, don't worry."

Max shook his head again. That didn't sound like something he'd want to know…. _Why were these two dating? _

…..

The ride down the side way was silent, with the noise of the train and all the passengers. Max scrunched his nose up and looked at a window to try not to see how close his siblings were standing with each other.

"Meet me at the park after school." Justin whispered into Alex's ears before walking into school.

"But Justin we are grounded, remember?" Alex asked in confusion. _Why was he breaking the rules? _

"And today is our third anniversary, remember?" he shot back, walking ahead instead of waiting for her response.

_Of course she didn't._

…

Alex stood at the park, waiting for Justin. Mr. Punctual was being late!

Alex sighed and glanced at her watch...

….

"_Alex! Looking at the clock is not going to make time pass any faster!" Justin snapped, slapping her hand down. "I told you that you didn't need to come with me."_

"_I couldn't let you visit the doctor on your own!" Alex snapped back. "I need to know what is going on."_

_Justin grinned. "You totally care about me."_

"_No I don't!" Alex protested, smacking his shoulder. "I am just making sure that you don't get sick and mom doesn't force me to stay at home and look after you."_

_Justin's grin grew wider. "You totally like to stay at home with me."_

_Alex glared daggers at him. Why couldn't he just shut up?  
_

"_Aww, you look sick." Justin teased, pointing his finger at her scowling face. "Can I help you?"_

"_Yes, please, stop breathing__." Alex snapped back quickly._

_His name was called at that moment, and they had to pause their fighting game and walk inside the doctor's room. _

"_Justin Russo?" The doctor asked, motioning at them to take the seats. _

_He nodded, before explaining his symptoms to the doctor and letting him run some tests._

_Two weeks later, and they were back at the chamber. The doctor examined the reports and sighed. "Justin, do you smile?"_

_Alex chuckled. "Justin and smoking? Please… he's Mr. Perfect." _

_Justin blushed like a school girl in embarrassment but nodded. "I don't smoke."_

"_Oh." the doctor said, looking at the reports again. "Many people with asthma do smoke.." _

"_With what?" Alex asked instantly, her eyes growing wide with alarm._

_The doctor nodded sadly. "Your brother has asthma… I wonder how it remained undetected for so long…"_

_Alex felt her world shatter at that moment. Why did Justin have a disease that didn't allow him to breathe properly?_

….

Alex sat down at the park bench, glancing at her new bracelet. Her other hand played with it, as she closed her eyes and tried to keep the fear away from her mind.

…..

"_I am alright Alex." Justin assured again. _

"_He'd be fine, honey." Jerry said softly, ruffling her hair. "It's a very common disease…"_

"_Why him?" Alex sobbed, wiping her nose with a tissue. _

_Jerry sighed. "He'd be fine honey…"_

….

Alex's heart began beating fast. Why didn't Justin come yet? Where was he? Was he really all right?

….

"_Easy, Justin, breathe." Alex whispered, trailing her hands softly through his hair. _

_Justin nodded and took in deep breaths. "I'm sorry Alex... It just makes me too breathless." _

"_It's okay, Justin." she whispered, assuring him, "I don't want long and deep kisses. I just want you to breathe."_

….

Alex grabbed her cell phone and dialed his number.

"I'd be there soon, I promise." Justin said as soon as he answered the call.

Alex sighed in relief. "Stop scaring me, you egghead!"

Justin chuckled. "Love you…"

…

"_I don't think we should walk so far…" Alex said, grabbing Justin's hand and stopping him, "you'd run out of breathe."_

"_Alex, we can't date here… people would recognize us." Justin reasoned._

"_It's okay Justin." Alex assured. "I don't want to go out on loving dates… I just want you to breathe." _

….

Ten minutes later, Justin was standing in front of her, a box in his band, heaving and panting.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Alex yelled. "Who told you to run?"

"I was late…" Justin said, trying to catch his breath.

"So what, Justin?" she snapped, taking his arm and making him sit on the bench. "I could have waited for you… I would have waited for you forever…"

Justin smiled and handed her the box. "This is for you. I just wanted to thank you for being steady with me for 3 years… that and not killing me in all these years." He said, chuckling.

Alex looked up at him and glared. "Don't ever scare me like that." She warned, grabbing the collar of his shirt.

"Alex…I… I don't like how things are now… you're just getting too scared. Really. We can live like before again. Trust me."

"But Justin-"

"-Alex... I want things to be just the way they were again. Today, I want _**you**_ to make me _**breathless**_…"

…

**{"You leave me breathless**

**You're everything good in my life **

**You leave me breathless**

**I still can't believe that you're mine."}**

(A/N: yes it's over; you are free from my torture :P I just hope this made even a bit of sense to you. I was just trying to portray their strong love here… review please?)


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